Editors note: By renaming Social Security a “Federal benefit” program, the access to the principal, not just the surplus, is on the horizon. Currently the largest Social Security office on the planet sits in the middle of Mexico City. Illegal immigrants have only to show they worked three quarters in the US, even if under a stolen identity or assumed name, to collect from Social Security. Americans have to work a minimum of 12 quarters to qualify. currently, the Federal government owes Social Security an estimated 4 trillion in stolen surplus funds: stolen and used to fund illegal wars of aggression and a myriad of other non-related programs and policies. THERE IS NO TRUST FUND! Social Security taxes are identified only as a revenue stream deposited in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) via the World Bank. The next time your politician of choice suggests to you that Social Security is an entitlement program implying that it is some kind of unearned welfare, remind them that taxes on your wages is what funds this program. The federal government does not fund Social Security…… Social Security funds the federal government. Maybe it is some perverse form of reverse welfare. Then, ask them what happened to this 4 trillion dollar surplus that was stolen from our retirement accounts and how they intend to pay it back. Since all surpluses are immediately seized by the federal government and squandered, there is no reserve~ Marti

Reposted from 2011….and here we are again with another administration that will refuse to deal with the real issues with medicare and social security….the absolute fraud that is perpetrated by the medical, pharmaceuticals and elder services industries costing medicare 20-60 billion annually.“One way or the other, the elderly in this country will be cleansed from society. In the meantime, every dime that can be squeezed and wrenched out of our existence for any reason whatsoever will continue. And MSM along with government hacks will continue to portray the elderly as receiving “entitlements”, “free rides at the expense of the country”.

Never once will they admit the problem isn’t with the elderly, it is with those who exploit the elderly.”

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It is alarming to hear not only younger members of the country, but also some middle aged members, medical professionals and others, referring to Medicare as some kind of free, gravy train medical insurance that seniors don’t have to pay for. Are people really that ignorant of how this system works?

After paying into Social Security and Medicare for decades, those who receive medicare must also now pay a premium every month for this insurance. These premiums can range from a few hundred dollars a month, to several hundred. Married couples pay individual premiums which can amount to $700.00 per month or more, combined on average. These premiums are deducted from their Social Security checks; neither the government, nor taxpayers, pay this premium.

Then there is that handy-dandy “donut hole” where Medicare pays nothing. This was a huge gift to the insurance companies who whined about not getting a piece of the Medicare pie. From approximately the $2500.00 to $5000.00 costs of care, Medicare pays for nothing. Ta DA! We got your GAP insurance plan which will cost you another $200.00 per month at least. This will cover the costs incurred in the hole. Of course the insurance companies have no plans to make good on these GAP policies, so getting them to pay any percentage of anything is a monumental task.

Then there is the co-pay at your doctors office. Then the co-pay on medications. Then there are the costs of medications your insurance and Medicare don’t/won’t pay for. That comes right out of your pocket!

Now, to add insult to injury, an estimated 20 million illegal aliens will be given “free” healthcare and I have yet to hear the word “entitlement” attached to those benefits.

The “permanent” end to the yearly threatened cuts to doctors’ pay—the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula—may satisfy my curiosity about what the end of a Ponzi scheme will look like.

All Ponzi schemes are unstable and doomed to fail. Medicare and Social “Security” will be no different.

The yearly postponement of SGR cuts was a bribefest held to tease and extort corporate health cronies and physicians. The “doc fix” was not an exception: just look at all the “stakeholders” acknowledged in its 263 pages.

The purpose of the SGR was to delay the bankruptcy and end of Medicare. The doc fix will hasten it.

Central to the progressive goal of controlling the practice of medicine—and to the success of the [Un]affordable Care Act (UCA)—is the need to push physicians into employment contracts with hospitals. As hospital employees, doctors are easier to control, and less able to act as uncompromising advocates for their patients.

It is alarming to hear not only younger members of the country, but also some middle aged members, medical professionals and others, referring to Medicare as some kind of free, gravy train medical insurance that seniors don’t have to pay for. Are people really that ignorant of how this system works?

After paying into Social Security and Medicare for decades, those who receive medicare must also now pay a premium every month for this insurance. These premiums can range from a few hundred dollars a month, to several hundred. Married couples pay individual premiums which can amount to $700.00 per month or more, combined on average. These premiums are deducted from their Social Security checks; neither the government, nor taxpayers, pay this premium.

Then there is that handy-dandy “donut hole” where Medicare pays nothing. This was a huge gift to the insurance companies who whined about not getting a piece of the Medicare pie. From approximately the $2500.00 to $5000.00 costs of care, Medicare pays for nothing. Ta DA! We got your GAP insurance plan which will cost you another $200.00 per month at least. This will cover the costs incurred in the hole. Of course the insurance companies have no plans to make good on these GAP policies, so getting them to pay any percentage of anything is a monumental task.

Then there is the co-pay at your doctors office. Then the co-pay on medications. Then there are the costs of medications your insurance and Medicare don’t/won’t pay for. That comes right out of your pocket!

Now, to add insult to injury, an estimated 20 million illegal aliens will be given “free” healthcare and I have yet to hear the word “entitlement” attached to those benefits.

When I signed in for my yearly mammogram the receptionist announced with a wry smile, “No co-pay this time, it’s free!” We both knew that it really wasn’t free.

To understand whether free means free, let’s look at Medicare as an example. Medicare has four parts. Part A (“hospital”) covers hospital admissions, post-hospitalization short-term skilled nursing, and hospice. Part B (“medical”) covers outpatient medical services such as physician visits, lab tests, and outpatient surgery. Parts A and B are called traditional Medicare. Part C (“Medicare Advantage”) is private HMOs. Part D is prescription drug coverage. Technically, all parts are optional.

Medicare is costly before and after we enroll. We pay for Part A through a 2.9 percent tax on earnings, half of which is paid by employers. Thus, an average worker earning $43,500 per year generates $105 every month for the promise of hospital insurance benefits beginning up to 45 years in the future.

Importantly, Part A is mandatory for those eligible for Medicare who receive Social Security payments. If beneficiaries want to opt out of Part A, they must forfeit all of their Social Security payments. More

On Monday, November 30, 2013, Obama gave a talk about what he called the growing inequality and lack of opportunity in America. He said this would be his focus the rest or his term. This is how he phrased it.

“…. and that is a dangerous and growing inequality and lack of upward mobility that has jeopardized middle-class America’s basic bargain — that if you work hard, you have a chance to get ahead. I believe this is the defining challenge of our time: Making sure our economy works for every working American. It’s why I ran for President. It was at the center of last year’s campaign. It drives everything I do in this office. And I know I’ve raised this issue before, and some will ask why I raise the issue again right now. I do it because the outcomes of the debates we’re having right now — whether it’s health care, or the budget, or reforming our housing and financial systems — all these things will have real, practical implications for every American. And I am convinced that the decisions we make on these issues over the next few years will determine whether or not our children will grow up in an America where opportunity is real.” More